Field Testing Fascism

Federal law enforcement officers have the legal right to protect federal buildings and other federal property. They do not have the right to leap out of unmarked cars, heavily armed and in camouflage gear, single out peaceful protestors, shove them into cars, fail to identify themselves or give any reason for their behavior, take their captives to a federal building and detain them for hours before releasing them. Despite the objections of the mayor and other officials, this has been happening Portland, Oregon.

These episodes are straight out of the fascist playbook. If Trump is reelected, he will claim that practices such as these have been approved by the people. He knows that the thoroughly cowed and craven Republican political establishment won’t push back. He will push the power of intimidation to the limit, if any limit is still in place. At the moment, these fascist techniques are being field tested. During a second Trump term they would become standard operating procedure.